Ascent

Aptly named, this 25-story hybrid tower took mass timber higher than it had ever gone. With 19 stories of CLT and glulam over a six-story concrete podium, Ascent placed 259 apartments and amenity spaces in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, making a mass timber statement for all to see. The team chose timber with sustainability, carbon, and biophilia in mind, exposing about 50% of the wood throughout to help curb stress and boost well-being. To demonstrate fire safety, they worked with USDA’s Forest Products Laboratory to complete the world’s first 3-hour glulam fire test. The building sequesters approximately 7,200 metric tons of CO₂, equivalent to taking 2,400 cars off the road for a year, and the volume of wood used takes estimated 25 minutes to grow in North American forests. The project took just two years to build, reducing the schedule by several months compared to other building systems. Ascent gave mass timber construction worldwide attention, illuminating both short- and long-term opportunities for sustainable building design. 493,400 sf / Type IV-HT construction